Portable electric flash-light.



C. I. SAGEBRECHT.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC FLASH LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.22,1914.

CHARLES J. SAGEBRECT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TG INTEBSTA'IE y ELECTRIC NOVELTY C0., F NEW YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION DF NEW YGRE.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC FLASH-LIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

iatentcd lune 2li, .itil/i3.,

.ipplication filed January 22, 1914, Serial No. 813,616.

To all lwhom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, CHARLES J. Saoennnolrr, a citizen of the United States, and a. resident oi' Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State oli' New vented certain nevi7 and useful' Improvements Where usually abundant space is in Portable Electric Flash-Lights, of which the following is a specification.

The invention pertains more particularly to improvements in the class oi electric lamps designed to be held in the hand and sometimes used as ilash lights and at other times for aifording a permanent light for a short period, and the object of the invention is to provide a new .construction and arrangement of the tubular shell or casing of the flash light or lamp and of the conductor which extends lengthwise of said shell or casing to be engaged by the circuit closing means, whereby the said conductor is permanently protected Within the Wall of the shell or casing against any action that the battery might otherwise have on it and whereby also the circuit closing means may be located at a point above the battery lett and in this instance utilized to receive the contacts oi the circuit closing means, the circuit closing means in accordance with my invention preferably comprising an exterior buttonhead to beY operated transverselyT ci' the Aexterior shell or casing and carrying two contact members to respectively engage the conductor embedded within said shell or casing'and the metal reiiector for the lamp when itis desired to complete the circuit and eiect the lighting of the lamp. A reverse movement of the buttonhead serves to break the circuit through the lamp.

ln carrying out my invention use a single conductor extending lengthwise of the exterior shell or casing and embedded therein instead of the two conductors which are ordinarily' employed in this class ot lamps, and embed this conductor Within the material of the shell or casing Where it is protected against any destructive action of the battery either by the movement of the battery during its insertion and Withdrawal or by corrosive action, and the life of thelamp is thereby greatly extended.

My invention resides in the novel construction and arrangement having to do with the conductor embedded Within the shell of the exterior casing and in the circuit York, have in-y The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portable electric flash light or lamp embodying my invention, the operatingr buttonhead of the circuit closing means being. illustrated in the position it has when the circuit is open; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the saine; Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the upper portion of the exterior shell or casing 'taken at right angles to the section 'of Fig. 2 and looking inwardly at the contacts of the cir cuit closing means, said contacts being shown as having been moved to their operative position; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a portion of the shell or casing taken on the dotted line 11-4 of Fig. 3 and designed to Yillustrate the conductor embedded Within said shell and the engagement of one of the contacts of' the circuit closing means with the upper inwardly bent end thereof; Fig.

:'3 is a horizontal section on the dotted line illustrating;n the method of constructing the` exterior shell or casing ci the lamp/'With the conductor embedded therein, and Eig. 8 is a vertical section, partly broken away, through the. exterior shellor casing an illustrating the Jfull length of the conductor embedded therein, said conductor at its ends being exposed for electrical connection with other parts of the lamp.

ln the drawings, l() designates the exterior shell or casing, 11 the4 battery, 12 the lens, 13 the electric lamp-bulb., 14 the metal reflector' for said bulb, 15 the electric con nection of the battery With the lamp, .and 16 the usual electrical conductor connection between the metallic cap 17 and the lower terminal 'of the battery 11, said battery, lens, lamp-bulb, reflector, electric connections 15, 16, and cap 17 being of customary' character.

dA sa Embedded within the wall of the shell or casing 10 is the conductor 18 extending substantially the entire length of said shell or casing and being a metal strip having its upper end bent inwardly and downwardly to form a contact 19 and its lower end bent outwardly and upwardly to form a contact 20.- The shell 10 is recessed, as at 2l, to permit Le upper end of the conductor 18 being 1int inwardly and downwardly, and is also recessed, as at 22, to permit the lower end d ware y and upwardly.

In the regular manufacture of the shells or c @sings 10, the conductor 18 will extend the full length'thereof, and hence it is necessary that the recesses 21, 22 be formed in .the end portions of the shell or casing so as to expose the ends of the conductor 18 and permit said ends to be fashioned'into the contacts 19, 20. The lower contact vis in electrical engagement with a threaded metal sleeve 23 secured upon the lower end of the shell 10 and engaged, as usual, by the metal cap 17.

Upon'the upper end of the shell or casing 10 is secured a metal sleeve'24, and mounted upon the upper inturned edges of this sleeve is the customary reflector 1l, which has a flanged upper edge to seat on the flange at the upper edge of said sleeve. Un the reflector is placed the lens, and the lens and reflector are firmly secured in position by means of an upper cap or sleeve 25 which is ordinarily screw-threaded and engages a thread on the sleeve 24.

vThe shell or casing 10 is made from a. sheet or strip of paper, fiber or other nonconducting material wound, also upon layer, on a mandrel whose diameter is equal to the bore of the shell or casing to be produced, the sheet or strip being continuous and wound around the mandrel untfl the requisite thickness in the tube has been secured. In accordance with my invention, during the winding of the sheet or strip to form the tube or shell 10, I apply between two of the layers, as wound,y a strip of metal extending lengthwiseof'thetube, as represented in Fig. 5, and this metal strip during the formation of the tube becomes embedded therein and is finally converted into the conductor or conductors 18. Iwill ordinarily use a continuous metal strip and form a tube of sullicient length to be cut into a suitable number of sections for the formation of the Shells or casings 10. After a tube of proper length and thickness has been formed and has h ad embedded or enveloped in it a conducting strip extending the full length of the tube, the latter will be cut transversely into `the requisite lengths forthe shells or casings 10, one of .which is illustrated. Ordinarily electric lamps of the class to which my invention the conductor 18 being bent out-l pertains have, in lieu of my one conductor 18, tw'o conductors extending inwardly from opposite ends of the shell to the circuit closing means, and heretofore these conductors have been exposed lat the inner surface of the shell or casing 10 and were directly engaged by the shell or casing of the battery. In accordance with my invention I protect the conductor against exposure to the action of the shell of the battery and make use of a single conductor in lieu of the two conductors heretofore customarily employed.

The shell or casing 10 is, as will be understood from the drawings, a stiff hard shell of sullicient thickness and strength to permit its use for the purposes described. The shell is capable of withstanding con` siderable strain as is necessary in the use to which it is placed. If the shell were not self sustaining, hard and strong it would be unsuitable as a casing for a flash light.

.The material of the shell is exceedingly dense, and in the practice of my invention said shell or casing has been made of fiber.

The circuit vclosing devices comprise a metal plate 26 having spring contact fingers 27, 28, respectively, and a rbuttonhead 29 having a stem 30 extending through a slot 31 formed in the wall ofv the shell 10 and securedto said plate 2U. The plate 2G is formed on the curvature of the inner wall of the shell or casing l0 so that it' may conveniently slide on said wall either in one direction or the other when moved by the buttonhead 29 to its operative or inoperative position. The slot 3l is preferably inclined so that when the-buttonhead 29 is moved from its inoperative position shown in Fig. 1 toits operative position shown in Fig. 3, the plate 26 will be slightly elevated so as to carry the contact linger 27 thereof not ioo only laterally toward the conductor 18 but v of the buttonhead 29 the plate 26 is moved t0 carry the contact nger 27 into engagement with the contact 19 0f the conductor 18,

the circuit through the lamp will be closed, i

as is obvious, and the lamp will -be lighted. lll/'hen the buttonhead 29 is again moved to its inoperative position the contact linger 27 will be disengaged from the contact 19 of the conductor 1S and the circuit through the lamp will be broken. .Tt may be seen on reference to Fig. 2 that the circuit closing means are wholly above the battery 11 and 130 in a commodious space which in the class ot' electric lainps to which Iny invention pertainsl is ordinarily not occupied, and the utilization ot' the space above the battery 11 enables nie to locate the contact fingers wholly within the shell or casing l0 and obviates the necessity of providing 0n the exterior ot' said casing the usual contacts and housin;r therefor custon'iarily employed on tubular electric lamps having?r conductors extendingr in\\'ardly Yfrom the opposite ends of the casing'. My invention permits of the tranarerse movement ot the circuit closing means and obriates any necessity for leaving anythingl proji-wting;` beyond the casing other than the buttonhead by which the circuit closingY means may be manually operated.

lt is believed that the utility and advantages ot the invention will be fully recognized 'trom the toregoinggdescription and theret'ore that t'urthcr detailed explanation is not necessary.

lVhat l elaiin as rny invention and desire to ,secure by Letters lalent, is:

1. In an electric [lash light ot the claes described, a non-coiulucting shell or main easing'. a conductor extending' in one continuous piece .substantially the. entire length oi the shell. a lanip and reflector on one end of said shell` a battery within the shell in electrical connection with the lamp and the lower end ot said eoiuluetor, and manually operative circuit closing means i'or eonuecting the other end ot said coiuluetor in the.

lamp and battery circuit for completing the same, said circuit closing means comprlsing a plate haring an exposed head to he maniel ally engaged and two contact fingers one to engage a downwardly bent upper end of said conductor and the other the lamp re Hector.

In an electric'tlash light of the class described, a non-conducting shell or main casing7 a conductor extending in one continuouhl piece substantially the entire length ol the shell, a lamp and reflector' on one end of said shell, a battery within the shell in electrical connection with the lamp and the lower end of said conductor, and manually operative circuit closing means for connecting the othen end of said conductor in the lamp and battery circuit for completing the saine, said circuit closing means comprisingr a plate having an exposed head to be manually engaged and two contact ingers one to engage a downwardly bent upper end of .said conductor and the other the lalnp re- Hector7 and said shell having a transverse up\\'ardly inclined slot to perlnit the Inoveinent ol' said head and cause said fingers to more upwardly during their transvers" nioreinent lo close the, circuit.

Signed at New York city, in the county ot New York and State ot' New York this 9th day ol' January, A. D. 1914.

'itnesses:

(n.\s. (l. (hlm, An'rnon Manton'. 

